BATTLE OF INITIALS: And Collison v. Maynor!

Thursday in Philly, Ben Howland will attempt to continue his remarkable NCAA tournament success as head coach at UCLA. The Bruins have been to 3 consecutive Final Fours, but this is easily the toughest draw. Even in 2005, a tournament where his UCLA team made a first round exit at the hands of Texas Tech, UCLA stayed stayed in the West losing to the Red Raiders in Tucson.

In 2006, the Bruins opened in San Diego then played the regionals at Oakland, ultimately losing to Florida in the championship game. Then in 2007, it was Sacramento and San Jose before losing to the Gators in the National Semifinal. Last year, they began in Anaheim and hopscotched through Phoenix, losing to Memphis in the Final Four.

In this year's tourney, the Bruins are flying 2,400 miles to the Keystone State, while the Virginia Commonwealth Rams will be playing about 200 miles away from their home campus. To make matters worse, if UCLA survives 2-time Colonial Athletic Conference Player of the Year Eric Maynor and VCU, they will likely be forced to play Big East 4th-place finisher Villanova on their home floor at the Wachovia Center.

It's a battle of initials: UCLA vs. VCU, and Howland's Bruins are at an extreme geographical disadvantage. How many UCLA fans will be in Philly? Not as many as attended games in Tucson, San Diego, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Anaheim and Phoenix, that's for sure. With VCU being so close, Howland is facing back-to-back virtual road games.

The opener is also a tough match-up on the court with the Rams coached by Billy Donovan disciple Anthony Grant. Maynor is one of only 3 players in the country averaging 22 points and 6 assists per game, and it was Maynor's 15-foot dagger that sent Duke home in the first round 2 years ago.

The Bruins are all about Darren Collison veteran leadership at both ends of the floor, but he is battling a bruised tailbone. He says he's good to go, but also acknowledges that it affected his play in UCLA's tournament loss to USC Friday night.

This is all a long way of saying that it would require multiple miracles for Howland to get to the Final Four for a 4th consecutive year. In fact, I'm betting that there isn't even a Sweet Sixteen in the cards. If the Rams don't beat 'em, Villanova will.